COLLEAGUES have rallied to support the family of Filipina nurse Claire Umali who was stabbed to death at her Chester home along with her son.

Staff at Orchard Manor Nursing Home in Upton wanted to help Claire's husband Bong who has been left to raise his three other children, aged 14, seven, and 20 months.

Head nurse Claire and her 13-year-old-son Kim died of multiple stab wounds at their Dorset Road home in Upton on the morning of Saturday, December 3.

Her sister Neila Santos also works as a nurse at the home for elderly people and has been devastated by the tragedy which has led to the arrest of her husband Orlando who is charged on two counts of murder.

Staff have decided to forego a Christmas party and instead donate the £350 it would have cost to Claire's family. They also raised about £300 from a Christmas fair. Colleagues hailing from India have raised £500.

Collection boxes have also been placed in local stores including the One Stop Shop, Upton Heath post office, the Spar, Kingsway newsagents, Somerfield in Dickons Drive, Morrisons at the Bache and the Gamekeeper pub in Newhall Road.

Donations are also coming in thick and fast from individuals such as GPs who knew Claire and organisations including Holy Ascension Church in Upton which donated a generous £405 after saying prayers for the family during Sunday's service.

People who have wanted to drop off flowers at the home have been asked for donations instead.

Orchard Manor's operations manager Karen Lancaster said: 'Claire, like a lot of our girls, came from overseas and she worked for us for six years. She was extremely caring.

'Because she is from the Philippines the family are drawing a lot of support from the Filipino community but we felt we wanted to do our bit to show our support for Claire's family.

'She worked very hard. She worked 42 hours a week to support her family and she had four children. There are not many mums who work full-time like that. So the family has lost one of the main earners and we felt we had to do something for Bong who has been left to look after three children on his own.'

Mrs Lancaster, who thanked everyone for their generosity, added: 'I was due to work alongside Claire last week. There was just an empty desk, it was awful.'

She said residents and their relatives had been informed about the tragedy and people were feeling 'very sad'. 'She was a friend to them, she cared for them, she looked after them,' she added.

The operations manager said Claire's sister Neila, who has a three-year-old daughter, called at the nursing home Tuesday and was also 'in our thoughts'.

She has been given time off to help her come to terms with what had happened. Mrs Lancaster hoped she would eventually return to work.

Anyone wishing to support the family of Claire Umali is asked to make a cheque payable to 'Orchard Manor Nursing Home' with an explanatory note and the money will be transferred across. It should be sent to Orchard Manor Nursing Home, Greenacres Court, Acres Lane, Chester, CH2 1LY david.holmes@cheshirenews.co.uk